Charlie Free
By Janice Boling
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Charlie and Barbara Free
Charles Free was a character right out of the movies.
A little bit James Dean, part Grizzly Adams, and Dean Martin, too
Barbara and Charles
Barbara called him Charles. I called him Charlie. Others knew him as Chuck.
Four men at Charlie's Barn
Charlie always welcomed everyone. We always had a good time standing around his fire, eating camp stew, and socializing. Charlie would tell a joke or someone would have a story to share. We didn't get too loud or Barbara would come up from the house and tell us to quiet down.
Charlie's wife was a natural redhead and we were all afraid of her -- even Charlie. Thinking back, she never lost her temper. All she had to do was put in an appearance and we would behave.
Martin was a character, too -- sometimes riding to the End of the Pavement on horse back. Back then he was married to Tammy. They raised miniature pinchers and welcomed me to their house on several occasions.
Ab and Curtis were two of the younger generation. I was proud of them both because they were polite young men with good heads on their shoulders. See more pictures of Ab on Gomer's page and more pictures of Curtis on Darlene's page.
Notice the owl behind Charlie's head. Those decorative things were not just yard art. They kept flying squirrels away -- the squirrels were terrified of owls.
There are four main species of owls in North Georgia. The great horned owl, the barn owl, the screech owl, and the barred owl. Other species of owls occasionally visit from other states.
The only two that I have ever seen are the little screech owls and the big barred owls.
April, Janice, Billy and Charlie
Billy and Charlie were sitting on a big log. Darlene took the picture.
Raymond, Charlie, and Richard
Raymond and Richard hung out a lot at Charlie's Barn. They were both after Charlie's daughters at one time or another.
Raymond and Charlie
The flue went up and out over the roof of the Charlie's Barn. It kept smoke out of our eyes.
Two of Charlie's daughters
Debbie settled down before the rest of us. She did not hang out at the End of the Pavement very often.
Diane was a regular and a whole lot of fun. I met these three sisters, Debbie, Darlene, and Diane, back in 1978. All were beautiful girls.
Joe took me to Charlie's Barn when I first arrived in Union County. It was way back in the wilderness on a dirt road surrounded by mountains and forests.
Charlie and Barbara's house
Barbara and Charlie raised their children in this cabin and lived there all of their lives. This house saw many generations come and go.
The cabin was old and looked like something out of a book. This was back when people still used television antennas to pick up signals from Atlanta or Chattanooga.
I thought the house had ten times more charm than a million dollar mansion.
Gomer and Charlie with mushroom
Gomer and Charlie spent a lot of time together. They rode through Cooper's Creek looking for deer and other wildlife.
Looked like they found a nice Lion's Mane mushroom while out and about.
See a picture of Charlie on his tractor.